So, given the time of year that it is, I thought “Why not have a Christmas Photo Contest”! So here it is!

The rules are simple:

• You can submit up to three photos to the SDuffyPhotography Christmas Photo Contest Flickr Group.
• The photo must have been taken in 2007 or 2008!
• The photo must have a Christmas or holiday theme!
• The photo must be “kid-safe”!
• The photos must be YOURS!

That’s it! Entries must be submitted to the SDuffyPhotography Christmas Photo Contest Flickr Group by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, 21 December 2008! There will only be one winner, judged solely by me.

The Prize
The winner will be announced on Christmas Day and they will receive a $100 Amazon gift certificate. International entries are encouraged, too, but if you are unable to redeem the gift certificate, or receive shipping from Amazon, we will work out a prize of comparable value.

Please note: Personal friends of mine are ineligible. Personal friends are defined as either someone who knew me prior to the launch of this site or someone who knows me via other means than this site. Sorry friends! Isn’t my friendship enough of a prize?

OK… Go get your best images or take some new ones and submit them here. I look forward to seeing all your photos!!

I was tagged by fellow photoblogger Martin Pot for the Five Things Meme making its way through the ‘Net so here are my responses:

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago

1) Living in Pittsburgh
2) Working on a river boat
3) Thinking about getting my riverboat captain’s license
4) Thinking “boy, I would really like to move back to DC”
5) Went to school at the University of Pittsburgh for a couple semesters (Engineering Physics major)

5 Things On My To-Do List Today

1) Call the Middle East Institute about Arabic classes… need to get back on the horse
2) Cash in a big jar of change because it’s getting too heavy
3) Ping fellow DC photog Samer about grabbing lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill soon
4) Apply for Senate/House press credentials (long shot but can’t hurt,right?)
5) Work on my Palestine book

5 Snacks I Like

1) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2) Honey Mustard Pretzels
3) The cupcakes my girlfriend made last night
4) Starbuck’s Cinnamon Swirl coffee cake
5) That’s it… not a big snacker

5 Things I Would Do If I Was A Millionaire

1) Quit my job
2) Buy a bunch of photo equipment
3) Travel extensively
4) Begin work on really cool, challenging photo projects
5) Buy a penthouse or house in NYC and/or Ireland

5 Places I Have Lived (For Various Lengths Of Time)

1) Pittsburgh, PA (various places)
2) Downtown Washington, DC
3) Arlington, VA
4) Upper Marlboro, MD
5) That’s it… a total of 2 months in the West Bank is the closest

5 Jobs I Have Had

1) Horse ranch guy (yeah I was a cowboy for three months)
2) McDonald’s employee (for about 4 months in HS)
3) Waiter
4) Deck hand on a river boat
5) Hacker

5 People I Tag

1) Mike
2) Samer
3) Antoine
4) Beau
5) Royston

The second photojournalist I’ve contacted is Jud McCrehin. Jud is currently a news photo editor for USAToday with approximately 16 years of experience in the industry. Prior to working at USAToday, Jud worked at The Army Times and covered training and conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. Even though the NPPA offers a separate portfolio review service for members, Jud was nice enough to take a look at my work and offer some great feedback.

Our exchange was very similar in many ways to the last one but I particularly appreciated the honest feedback on my work thus far and the tip that Jud included regarding learning video. Not a bad idea, really.

Below you will find portions of our email exchange after my initial introduction:

JM: “I think you will like the NPPA. I’ve been a member since 1988 when I started college.

Yes, I would be happy to offer feedback to you on your work and tips on how to become a more marketable photographer.

Your images look very nice. There are a lot of them and a lot of them are very redundant. From what I can see in your work you shoot mainly street scenes and a lot of portraits. It looks like you don’t spend much time with your subjects, a quick click and you’re gone. It looks as if you are a tourist visiting a country and doing a very nice job photographing the population living day to day. One thing I would suggest is to spend some time with one interesting person and document their life. You need to focus and learn and document somebody’s life. Keep it simple and clean, that is where you are going to find the moments.

Some of your images lack emotion and feeling, even most of your protest images are flat in terms of emotion. I’ve seen all these images before, I want to learn and feel something about your subjects. I want to see an image that makes me stop and say ‘wow, look at that’. It is very hard to do, and the photographers who can do it are stars. I want to be honest with you, your stuff is good, but you need to grow as a photographer and a visual reporter. For being a ’self-taught amateur’ you are kicking butt.

Well, it is a tough time to break into journalism even as a freelancer, the economy and the internet are dragging print journalism to a new low and might kill it. I’m expecting layoff news shortly from USA TODAY. There are going to be some crazy tough times ahead.

If I were you I would keep my day job and continue to grow as a shooter. You don’t need to go overseas to get good images. Good images can be taken are in your backyard. There are interesting people and things in D.C. This economy is giving you a bunch of interesting people trying to make a living. Just keep that in mind, domestic is just as good as international images in my opinion.

Any specific questions that you would like answered?”

SD: “Thank you so much for your feedback! That is definitely some of the best feedback I’ve received. And it isn’t far off from what I’ve been wondering myself. I need to go deeper. Many of my Palestine images were, in fact, done quickly. I was there as part of a volunteer organization so, unfortunately, I had only a limited time to shoot any particular subject. On my next trip I am planning on going by myself and enlisting the help of some local friends that can act as translators and/or guides in order to focus on specific stories rather than shooting and moving on. I also agree that I certainly don’t need to travel in order to do this. I’m actually in the process of brainstorming some ideas for feature-story-type projects that I can do right here in DC. My interest in traveling overseas is more a product of personal interest (in the Middle East, specifically) that goes back way before I started carrying a camera. The general consensus I’ve heard from other photojournalists is that building a portfolio of stories rather than images is the best way to get ‘noticed’. To document someone’s life, as you said, rather than simply photographing a moment.

The questions I have really revolve around the business side of photojournalism. Let’s say for the sake of the question, I complete a few strong feature-story-type projects. What’s the best path to follow? Is it better to get representation from an agency? Pitch media outlets directly? And then, from there, what are general next steps? Making yourself available for assignments? Continue doing my own assignments? A combination of both?

I realize there may be absolute answers, per se. I’m just trying to chart a basic course that I’d like to try and follow.

You also mentioned the strain on much of the print media nowadays due to the Internet. I’ve heard people on both sides say this could be good or bad for photographers and photojournalists. That print media is killing the market for photojournalists but that the Internet is presenting a whole new set of opportunities. Your thoughts?

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to look at my work and answer my questions. It is truly appreciated!”

JM: “I like the look of your sepia images, I don’t know if I would tone news images that way but they work for your portraits and your street photography.

“There is something to be said for photographing a moment especially ‘The’ moment. One great image of something is magical, but a well shot and edited story in your book lets people (potential employers) know how you think as a photojournalist.

“As for steps to take to get an outlet for your work: I think showing a well-edited portfolio of what you can do is your first step. You really should talk to a good freelancer around here or in the market or niche where you want to work to get the best advice on this. At USA TODAY we hire freelancers when we don’t have a staff shooter or videographer available. Which means we hire a lot of freelancers all over the country and world. Basically, we look at their book to determine if they would be a good fit. Sometimes if the media market is small we can’t afford to be picky, but in most cases the market has enough shooters where we can pick and choose. Washington D.C. is saturated with good shooters. If one shooter disappoints I move on to the next. It is a hard business, you are only as good as your last assignment. As for projects and getting hooked up with an agencies I really don’t have a handle on that. I would assume you would show your book to them as well. It can not and will not hurt you to show your work. If nothing else you get feedback.

“A word on feedback: Be careful who you believe. According to some people I should not be in the photojournalism industry right now, because I was or am not a good photographer. They might be right, but I’m still working in the industry. You are going to get all kinds of feedback positive and negative. Take what you want and the throw the rest in the trash can. That goes for my feedback as well.

“One thing you can do to help yourself in the industry is learn video. At some point in the near future I think everything is going to be video, unfortunately. Either video itself or a still taken from video. I hope I’m wrong, I really do.

“When you are looking for a project keep it simple and don’t keep adding on to it. You should have one subject and that is it. Keep asking yourself what is the story, are people going to be interested? Remember keep it simple. I believe in KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). I think that works in all parts of life not just photography. Projects tend to grow and get diverse fast. Then when you think your done you’ve got more street photography and portraits.

“Send questions and images when you have them.

“Thanks for contacting me.”

SD: “I will definitely stay in touch and may throw a question or two your way as it comes up. In the meantime, I am going to settle on a project and start working on it.

“I absolutely appreciate your time and consideration… Your advice and feedback have been extremely valuable and I look forward to using it in the coming months.”

As it turns out, of the four finalists, my photo won the Silver award! Woohoo! A huge congratulations is in order for fellow DC photographer Katy Ray for taking home the Gold!

I’m hoping that Fotoweek/DC will soon publish the finalist and/or winning images on their site soon so that you can see all the wonderful photos that were honored last night. The DC photo community truly is exceptional.

In the meantime, though, I’ll leave you with my image one last time:

I reached out to a few of them with some basic questions about photojournalism… Here is an excerpt from the first exchange I had with Joshua Hudson. Mr. Hudson has approximately 20 years’ experience in photojournalism, much of it doing military and combat photography. Some of our exchange can be found below. The correspondence took place via email so I will try to piece together questions and responses in a way that will make the most sense to a reader…

SD: Let’s assume for the sake of the question that I build up a respectable portfolio of photos and/or photo stories between my travels to the Occupied Territories or even from local projects. Is it best to try and get agency representation? Or would it be better to pitch media outlets directly? What kind of preparations and contacts would you suggest I make prior to traveling to the Occupied Territories? Is it worthwhile to approach organizations and agencies prior to traveling to get a sense of what they might be looking for?

JH: You need to evaluate what you want to do. If you want to work for a company, then you do not need representation. If you want to work as a freelancer, then an agent may be useful (but not necessary). The advantage of representation is that (in exchange for a fee) they will find you work. I do not advocate independent freelancing for new photographers. I am pretty old school that you learn the business– the best photographers are the ones that do not try to take shortcuts. So I would try and get a job with a paper first and build my resume while getting a direct mentorship. However, this means researching newspapers and news organizations to find good mentors.

However, if you are convinced you want to freelance it now– then yes, I would send out query letters asking for they are looking for. If you are working on spec, they will be more than willing to talk to you– no money out of their pocket.

SD: Given the recent financial problems of traditional newspaper organizations, is it worthwhile to pursue staff photographer positions, especially at smaller papers that might have less resources?

JH: The investment in glass is usually made over the years. The only new investment is in camera bodies, which are fairly inexpensive: even for small newspapers. If you take a job at a small paper you will learn how to do everything you need with the equipment provided. Gear does not make the photo– the photographer does.

SD: I’ve been told by other photojournalists that it might be best to build a portfolio of a couple feature-story-type projects rather than individual shots of a particular event or doing spot news photos. What would you recommend?

JH: This is good advice. The most marketable tool for a photographer is his ability to tell a photo story. It shows that you can not only catch a good moment, but you do it purposefully and can tie them into an overall story. Imagine a writer who gives a few great sentences to show his skill. Don’t you think the editor wants to see an entire paragraph? An entire story? Photojournalists are journalists. We just use images instead of words. If you can’t tell a story, I wouldn’t hire you.

As managing editor of multiple national publications (G.I. Jobs, Vetrepreneur, Military Spouse) I see lots of photographers. I want to know they can tell that story.

SD: My ultimate goal is to do international work. Given the competitive nature of the field, what you recommend for the first couple steps toward making that a reality? Basically, I’m trying to figure out the path to take from being somewhere newsworthy and taking photos, to actually getting them picked up and published.

JH: What do you mean by international work? A story is a story, regardless of geography. If you mean you want to be a combat correspondent, then you need to find training of how to survive the environment. The same is true if you want to live in the ravaged countries of Africa blighted with disease and famine. The competition is no greater in those areas than anywhere else in the world. I would really do some soul searching into WHY you want to cover those areas– and would you be just as happy if an editor sent you to tell the story of a GM plant in Michigan. Your focus should be on telling the story your editor wants, with your voice behind the lens.

I will caution you, as a former forward deployed combat photojournalist– think carefully about becoming a documentarian of danger. It is dangerous. It can be fatal. It will definitely be scarring to your soul. It is NOT romantic. Do not confuse adrenaline rushes with real joy or you will come home feeling empty. The same is true when documenting famine, plague, etc. The images are really amazing– but there is a cost to the soul, and the return on investment is rarely worth the cost in the long run.

SD: I wouldn’t say that I want to be a combat photojournalist, per se. My interest in the Middle East goes back years… As I mentioned, I was a Middle East Studies major in college and began taking Arabic before photography was a viable option. One of my two trips to the West Bank, as a matter of fact, occurred when the only camera I carried was a small Powershot. I want to work there, not because of the danger, but because I want to be able to tell the stories of what I’ve seen there. Photography has become my best option in telling those stories. So, yes, I would be perfectly happy doing a story about a GM plant in Michigan. In fact, I am currently brainstorming a few stories just like that in the local DC area to begin building respectable photo stories. But my own personal interest is what draws me to areas of the world that happen to be particularly dangerous. I think I can safely say that it’s not because I want some adrenaline rush or because I have glamorous visions of being an embattled photojournalist on the front lines of major conflicts. That area of the world is simply a passion of mine and merging that interest with my passion for photography seems like a no-brainer.

JH: One more bit of advice I can share. Do not worry about paychecks. If you want to shoot to make money, there are LOTS of other areas of photography. I can make a month’s pay in a single day shooting commercial or wedding photography. If you REALLY want to be a photojournalist, be sure that you never see your work as good enough. Also be sure to never think that you can’t do what another photographer can do. Be absolutely confident that every photo is an opportunity for you to learn how to improve your craft and resolve to make that a true statement. The line between mediocrity and brilliance is effort and commitment.

Many, many thanks to Mr. Hudson for taking the time to answer some of my questions and for allowing me to repost some of them here…

I hope to post at least one more conversation with another mentor in the next day or two. Stay tuned!

It was actually getting somewhat dark by the time we did a lot of these shots… All of the shots were done with a single off-camera strobe fired through a white umbrella.

A photo from last year:

Click the cover below for a larger image…

Palestine: Disputed Land, Undisputed Hope